The New York Bobcats (also called New York Bobcats Royals) were a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III junior ice hockey organization from Dix Hills, New York, at the Dix Hills Ice Arena. The team was most recently a member of the Eastern Hockey League in the 2017–18 season.

New York Bobcats
CityDix Hills, New York
LeagueMetropolitan Junior Hockey League (2000–2003)
Atlantic Junior Hockey League (2003–2013)
EHL-Premier (2013–2016)
Eastern Hockey League (2017–present)
Founded2000
Home arenaDix Hills Ice Arena
ColorsDark green, black, white
     
Owner(s)Ron & Joel Friedman and Chris & Peter Ferraro
WebsiteNew York Bobcats
Franchise history
2000–2016New York Bobcats
2017–2018New York Bobcats Royals

History

edit

The Bobcats organization was founded in 2000 as a member of the Tier III Junior B Metropolitan Junior Hockey League (MetJHL) winning the league playoffs in 2002 and qualified for the 2002 Tier III Junior B National Championships.[1] In 2003, the Bobcats became one of the charter members of the Tier III Junior A Atlantic Junior Hockey League (AJHL) along with five other MetJHL organizations. The Bobcats would go on to win the regular season and playoff titles in 2006 and 2007 while in the AJHL.[2] In 2013, Tier III junior hockey leagues were reorganized and the AJHL became the Eastern Hockey League (EHL). In 2015, the EHL added a lower level division (formerly called Junior B) called the EHL-Elite Division and added all the current EHL teams (including the Bobcats) to the EHL-Premier Division. In 2016, head coach and general manager Craig Doremus took the same positions with the Tier II junior New Jersey Titans of the North American Hockey League. Subsequently, the Bobcats were no longer listed as part of the EHL and as of July 2016 have not announced any plans for the following seasons. At the time they were playing out of The Twin Rinks at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, New York.

In 2017, the Bobcats returned from hiatus and began play out of the Dix Hills Ice Arena in Dix Hills, New York. The team announced Ken Hoey as the new head coach after three seasons with the Bobcats affiliate, the Long Island Jr. Royals of the North American 3 Atlantic Hockey League. Upon their return, the top level Bobcats were often called the Bobcats Royals after the Jr. Royals also joined the EHL in the developmental Tier III division.

The players, ages 16–20, carried amateur status under Junior A guidelines and hoped to earn a spot on higher levels of junior hockey in the United States and Canada, Canadian Major Junior, Collegiate, and eventually professional teams.[3]

Season-by-season records

edit
Season GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA Regular Season Finish Playoffs
Atlantic Junior Hockey League
2003–04 No information 2nd of 6, AJHL Lost Semifinal game, 1–3 vs. Washington Jr. Nationals[4]
2004–05 41 35 5 0 1 71 247 115 1st of 4, South
2nd of 8, AJHL
Won Semifinal game, 11–2 vs. New Jersey Rockets
Lost Championship game, 1–4 vs. Boston Bulldogs
2005–06 42 35 5 0 2 72 269 138 1st of 11, AJHL Won Quarterfinals, 2–0 vs. Portland Jr. Pirates
Won Semifinal game, 7–4 vs. Hartford Jr. Wolfpack
Won Championship game, 9–6 vs. Boston Bulldogs
League Champions
2006–07 44 36 6 0 2 74 244 141 1st of 6, South
1st of 12, AJHL
League Champions
2007–08 44 28 12 0 4 60 197 150 2 of 5, South
4th of 11, AJHL
2008–09 42 34 7 0 1 69 175 106 1st of 6, South
2nd of 12, AJHL
2009–10 42 37 3 0 2 76 212 97 1st of 6, South
1st of 12, AJHL
2010–11 44 35 5 0 4 74 231 111 1st of 6, South
2nd of 12, AJHL
2011–12 44 31 12 0 1 63 185 112 3rd of 12, AJHL
2012–13 44 24 16 3 1 52 158 153 6th of 12, AJHL Lost Quarterfinals, 0-2 vs. Connecticut Jr. Wolfpack
Eastern Hockey League
2013–14 44 23 15 5 1 52 146 132 2nd of 6, Central Div.
5th of 17, EHL
Won Round 1, 2–0 vs. Boston Junior Rangers
Lost Quarterfinals, 0–2 vs. Boston Bandits
2014–15 44 26 16 2 54 156 131 3rd of 5, Central Div.
7th of 19, EHL
Won Round 1, 2–1 vs. East Coast Wizards
Lost Quarterfinals, 1–2 vs. New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs
2015–16 41 25 12 4 54 173 121 5th of 9, South Conf.
7th of 18, EHL-Premier
Lost First Round, 0–1 vs. Philadelphia Revolution
2016–17 Inactive in junior hockey
2017–18 50 4 42 4 12 92 298 4th of 4, Central Div.
8th of 8, South Conf.
16th of 16, EHL
Did not qualify

Alumni

edit

The Bobcats have produced a number of alumni playing in higher levels of junior hockey, NCAA Division I, Division III college and professional programs, including:[5]

References

edit
  1. ^ "NY Bobcats - About Us". NY Bobcats. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  2. ^ "EHL History". EHL. Archived from the original on August 8, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  3. ^ "Ice Hockey in Harlem" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-23. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  4. ^ "Washington Junior Nationals, Junior Hockey, Washington DC, Bowie, Maryland, hockey". www.jrnats.com. Archived from the original on 14 April 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  5. ^ http://www.nybobcats.com/Page.asp?n=26848&snid=430764208&org=nybobcats.com [dead link]
  6. ^ "Tony Romano Stats and News".
edit